I think most of us here can agree that the concept behind a currency such as Bitcoin is brilliant, but it is not without its flaws.

One that has me particularly concerned is the deflationary spiral, and I have a question related to it. Are lost Bitcoins, either destroyed or just never used, ever recoverable by the market?

This is obviously countered by the inflation period in which Bitcoins are being generated en masse, but it raises some concerns in me about the long term viability of Bitcoin as a currency. When the 21 million maximum is hit, the Bitcoins "removed" from circulation can only help the deflation spiral. Shouldn't there be some sort of system that adds currency not used in, say, 2-3 years, back to the market, though mining?

The bitcoin are in the system and can be seen in the block chain but without the wallet to unlock them they can only be seen. im sure many people have lost their wallet, or many people have .0000001 or a small fraction of bitcoin stuck somewhere that will never see the light of day. also if some people lose interest and or their computer gets fried with no back up to the wallet those will be stuck in the block chain and never have access to them either